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Outlook: The massacre that made me a mortician

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Camilo Andres Jaramillo (credit: Camilo Andres Jaramillo)

29/04/2019 GMT

The massacre that made me a mortician

BBC World Service - Outlook, The massacre that made me a mortician

Camilo Jaramillo survived a massacre and found solace in becoming a mortician

Camilo Jaramillo from Colombia was shot nine times at a bar when  it came under attack. Not only did he survive, but he has since found peace by working as a mortician.

The Colombian city of Medellin was a dangerous place in the 1990s as Camilo Andres Jaramillo knows all too well. Although he lived in the safer part of town, he ended up being caught up in the violence when a group of masked gunmen stormed the bar he was in with friends. Although he was shot nine times that day, and lost all of his friends, Camilo miraculously survived. What he did next is even more extraordinary – he now works as a mortician. He tells Anu Anand why his job  brings him peace. 

If you’re a fan of the 18th century English novelist Jane Austen, you probably know that she lived in the city of Bath in the UK and that she even set two of her novels there. Were she still alive, she would no doubt be bemused that the most photographed man in Bath is based on one of her characters - that of Mr Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. His name is Martin Salter and he is the official meeter and greeter at the Jane Austen centre. Our reporter Pete Simson has been to meet him.

Enrique Núñez is something of a legend in Cuba. He owns one of the first private restaurants - or paladares - to open in the 1990s. Today pop stars, heads of state and politicians all compete for tables there. But it wasn't always so glitzy. He tells Outlook's Jane Chambers how he opened the restaurant in response to a very difficult time in Cuba’s history. 

'Cactus' is a dog who, incredibly, ended up joining the third stage of the gruelling Marathon des Sables race in the Sahara Desert after he tried to 'protect' the runners from an overhead helicopter which was filming them. Not only that but he came in 52nd – beating 750 other runners! His owner Karen Hadfield takes up the story. 

Image and credit: Camilo Jaramillo

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